On-Demand Merch Vs Bulk Production

October 9, 2021
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The pros and cons of customizing your merch without blowing your budget.

As with most business strategies, there is no right or wrong way for print on demand merchandise or bulk printing. As a company, you must decide what is best for your specific product or service. Whether that’s creating a custom merch store for bulk orders or trying print on demand drop shipping is up to you. And just like any venture, you may want to try or even use both depending on the project, season, or lifecycle of the customized merch you’re creating for your product or service. 


Benefits of On Demand Merchandise 

  • You won’t have to hold inventory
  • You only pay for what you need 
  • You can swap out styles/colors/designs as you go
  • You can offer more sizes, colors, and styles

Benefits of Bulk Production

  • You save money per piece when you order in bulk
  • You have higher quality products and customization capabilities
  • You can ship out immediately when orders are placed 
  • You can better control your inventory
  • You can scale your business much faster


Pros & Cons of On Demand Merch VS Bulk Orders:

On demand merchandise for bands is great for testing items.


Not sure your merch has a place in your market? Because you don’t print until your items are sold, having no sales means you haven’t actually paid for any products yet. Of course, you will still pay for the marketing of the item, the creation of the design, and the time you spent setting it up. 

Easy set up for print on demand brand merch. 

For successful print on demand stores and print on demand websites, you have many options. For customers a platform like Spreadshirt print on demand you will want to find a reputable print on demand company. But as far as user experience goes, you cannot beat how easy it is to get started and start designing. As a business, you may already have design options in mind, and just want your consumers to choose their quantity, size, and/or color. With an on demand merch shop, you will need to give your customers options and make your site easy to navigate or your store easy to shop. This is also great for print on demand band merch.


Print on demand drop shipping:


When it comes to the best print on demand sites and taking advantage of drop shipping, you will want to consider your platform for a smooth product lifecycle. By investing in a great platform, like Gooten who helps you with fulfillment and pricing, you can easily integrate it into your Shopify store if you already have one. For additional details or gooten vs printful points, you’ll find this article helpful.  For print on demand clothing, best print on demand t shirts and print on demand apparel, you may be contemplating Printful and Teelaunch. Check out these pros and cons on printful vs teelaunch. For more of the best print on demand t shirt companies, check out printful vs printify


Your customer can also place their on demand printing order with you and them you in turn send that order to the supplier for dropshipping and act as the middle man. Either way, you go, the shipping won’t be fast, since the printing and customization happen after the order is placed and before it can be shipped. With consumers used to instant gratification (think fast and free ship thanks to Amazon Prime), print on demand merchandise could be seen as a con in your customer’s eyes due to slow deliveries. 


Sometimes it just comes down to price.


Another point you will want to consider for an on demand merch store is whether or not the price played a factor in your customer’s buying (or lack of) buying decision. For example, you can enjoy bulk orders discounts when ordering large quantities since there is only one setup fee. So ordering high-quality t-shirts in bulk will have a lower cost per item depending on your overall quantity. Whereas print on demand clothing for single orders will cost customers more. So is buying merch in bulk better? From your customers’ point of you, it could be, especially if you pass the savings on to them. 

It’s all about the inventory.


Whether you are small batch clothing manufacturers or want to sell bulk clothing you will want to think through where you will store your bulk band merch. For example, on demand shirt printing happens on the spot with print on demand fulfillment or drop shipping, leaving companies with no inventory to store on hand. Whereas investing in, for example, canvas shirts bulk, you will need to store your merch somewhere until it is sold.  If you don’t have a place to hold inventory you may need to look into product or t-shirt fulfillment companies. For your best merch websites cheap in bulk, including bulk band merch, talk to your Gemnote Rep.


Overall Bulk VS Print On Demand Merch Companies 

If you’re still not sure whether you want to use print on demand companies or save money and time with bulk orders, just leave it to Gemnote! They can help you with all of the logistics, and you can leave the heavy lifting to the experts! From production (think sourcing the best products) to quality printing on trusted brand products, they can help you ace your swag goals. Plus, you can leave the warehousing of inventory, shipping, and fulfillment to them as well. 

- While it may seem easier to do print on demand, you can enjoy many of the same perks when you choose bulk ordering and partner with a company like Gemnote to help you with the details. 

- And, wouldn’t it be great if you could have better control of your inventory? 

- Plus, wouldn’t you rather scale your business much faster and enjoy bulk orders discounts? 

Don’t risk putting your design and branding on cheap products! When you invest in bulk ordering, you can enjoy higher quality product options and customization capabilities. Best of all, not only will your company benefit but your customers will too since you can ship immediately without having to wait for on-demand printing. Best of all, you’ll be able to pass some of the cost savings down to your customers as well.   



Don’t let the thought of trying to store your bulk orders and manage your inventory keep you from offering your customers a great deal or creating a successfully branded swag store for your company! 


When you partner with a company like Gemnote, you will receive quality customized swag from top-of-the-line suppliers. In fact, Gemnote only partners with brands you would be proud to add your logo to. Talk to your Gemnote rep about how you can get bulk production merch for your company. Not only can they put together a specially curated collection of items in your budget, but they can also help you easily set up a swag store to help you scale your business and brand this year. 

Bulk orders now can help you with future needs too.   

It’s easy to forget about all the times companies have a need for great swag. In fact, if you’re not customizing the swag and gifts you give each year, you are letting major marketing opportunities pass you by. 

Custom bulk orders also make great: 

  • New Hire onboarding swag sets
  • Christmas and holiday gifts 
  • Employee awards and recognition 
  • Customer appreciation gifts 
  • Events and Conference Swag 
  • Trade booth giveaways
  • Employee branded gear
  • Customer incentives
  • And more!


Isn’t it time you took your customized merch to the next level? Don’t let your fourth quarter marketing strategy pass you by without investing in braided merch. Whether your placing a bulk order with a company like Gemnote or seeing if print on demand merchandise is a better way to go for your company, you don’t want to wait. By offering custom merch you can increase brand recognition, dazzle those hard to please clients, and award your hardworking team!

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